Swishing in a catch-and-shoot outside look, it looked like the Oklahoma City Thunder were on the verge of their All-Star player carrying them to a close playoff win after a busy fourth quarter filled with elite shot-making. Just not the All-Star player you likely would’ve guessed.

In the best playoff game of his career, Jalen Williams almost carried the Thunder to an important win. He totaled 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting, five assists and three rebounds. He shot 3-of-7 from 3 and went 7-of-8 on free throws.

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Despite that, the Thunder suffered a 113-104 Game 3 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets. They’re now in a 2-1 Round 2 series hole as Game 4 becomes a do-or-die situation for the first seed.

Throw the ugly result out the window. Williams shushed any critics of his after two so-so games against the Nuggets. On the court with a three-time MVP winner and this year’s probable MVP winner, the 24-year-old was the best player at Ball Arena on Friday.

In one of his best career stretches, Williams had one of his signature fourth-quarter takeovers where the basket was likely the size of the sea to him. He scored 16 points with acrobatic drives to the basket and unreal self-created jumpers as the Thunder’s offense stalled. A big-time 3-pointer pushed OKC’s lead to 100-99 with 1:50 left.

Williams then swished in both free-throw attempts to make it a 102-99 game with 1:11 left. And that was it from the Thunder for the rest of regulation. Nobody else could score. In overtime, he was scoreless and only took two shot attempts as OKC’s offense froze up.

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With everybody upset about this avoidable loss, not giving Williams more touches in the final five minutes was the biggest criticism most people latched onto. That happens when your MVP candidate is in superhero mode and fails to carry them to a crucial win.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his worst playoff game ever. He finished with 18 points on 7-of-22 shooting. The Thunder’s offense dried up in the final 17 minutes with just 21 minutes, including two points in overtime. He couldn’t bail them out with buckets.

“We can look at it but those guys have a great chemistry on the court together and find a nice blend. We’re not going to push the same button repeatedly. A lot of that stuff happens on the flow,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said about Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. “That’s where as a team, you got to have trust. You got to work together and we made a habit of that all year.”

Despite fans backing him up, Williams said he loved the late-game process. He didn’t mind the lack of looks. On the road in overtime in a playoff environment, you want your MVP candidate to have the ball in his hands and not become a decoy down the stretch.

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“We have the best closer in the NBA and he was getting to spots that we wanted him to get to and shoot the ball. If I wanted to go force a shot, obviously I can but we have other talented guys on the team,” Williams said. “I don’t even think I shot one shot in that. I turned the ball over twice. Those are opportunities to score and create for others, too. I have my opportunities. I’m never gonna sit up here and complain about touches or stuff like that. I have the ball a lot.”

What a waste of a masterpiece. Williams did enough to secure this win. Just a couple more buckets by Gilgeous-Alexander could’ve put this high up there in all-time OKC playoff performances. Instead, it’ll join Alex Caruso’s Game 1 in the Hall of Vain.

“As a team, we know this s–t’s not easy. It’s the playoffs, bro. We’re playing against a team that’s very good that’s won at a high rate. I think we’ve done a good job at understanding it’s going to test our conviction,” Williams said about Game 4. “Not everything is all sunshine and rainbows. There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs through and it’s about how you win these days in between. I think that’s what makes a really good team.”

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Why did Thunder go away from Jalen Williams in Game 3 loss to Nuggets?